UPDATE: Ohio Gov Signs Bill To Allow Guns In Capitol Lot

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio Gov. John Kasich has signed a bill allowing guns to be left in vehicles parked in two garages located under the Statehouse and other state office buildings.

The Republican governor signed the measure Thursday amid national calls to reduce gun violence.

Kasich says he sees the measure as unrelated to the Connecticut school shootings in which 20 children and six adults died. The governor says it protects Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

The new law also changes how the state defines an unloaded weapon and eliminates a competency requirement for renewing concealed-carry permit holders.

Lawmakers removed a provision allowing out-of-state gun owners to automatically carry into Ohio without the attorney general's signoff if their state had agreed to such an arrangement.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The Republican governor told reporters Tuesday he's rejecting calls to veto the bill because it passed overwhelmingly, and because it's important to continue to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. He said it represented a "measured approach."

Kasich said he had his education adviser convene a meeting involving the Attorney General's Office, and the state departments of Education, Mental Health and Public Safety, including Homeland Security, after 20 children and six adults were killed Friday in Newtown, Conn. He said any solution must address the root of the violence.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio lawmakers and visitors to the Capitol could leave guns in vehicles parked in the Statehouse garage under a bill before the state Senate.

The measure cleared a Senate committee Wednesday, sending it to the full Senate for a possible vote this week.

The bill would let gun owners leave weapons in their cars in the parking garages beneath the Statehouse and under a building that houses the governor's office and many legislators' offices.

Sen. Larry Obhof, who offered the amendment, said many Senate Republicans are gun owners who like hunting and shooting at ranges. The Medina Republican said it was "for convenience's sake," so gun owners didn't have to go home before their destination.

The measure is part of a bill updating Ohio's concealed weapons law.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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